


The Water Waits

by winter_writes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abduction, Don't copy to another site, F/M, First Kiss, Flirting, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Jötunn Loki, Kidnapping, Magic, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Rescue, The inherent romanticism of building a home together, and other kisses after that...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22048618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winter_writes/pseuds/winter_writes
Summary: The nixie Sigyn has lived for centuries in the peace of her lake on Vanaheim, until one day she is captured and brought to Asgard to sing before the court.She expects to live out the rest of her life in captivity, but rescue comes in the unexpected form of one of Asgard’s princes…
Relationships: Loki/Sigyn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	1. Capture

The nets were thrown around her, and no matter how hard she thrashed there was no escaping them. One she could manage. Two could be thrown off with difficulty. Three, even, though it would be far from easy. 

Those who were trying to capture her today had thrown five. There was something different about the ropes; they were heavier, and wrapped around her until there was no escape from the rough fibres. By the time they added a sixth net, she knew there would be no escape. 

Even so, she didn’t stop struggling. Not as they pulled her from her lake. Not even when she felt a man’s fist in her hair and a sharp tug, so painful that she transformed back into a woman, naked and vulnerable. Still she screamed at them, clawed with her nails, even bit one of them. 

Sigyn jerked and twisted as they threw her in a cage on the back of a wagon, turning until she could see her lake through the bars. 

No, it was only once the sparkling water had vanished from sight that she collapsed to the floor of the cage and ceased to struggle. She did not weep. There could be no tears now that they had taken her water from her. 

*

As the wagon moved further from the lake, Sigyn felt her bond stretch. It was not normally like this; there was no limit to how far a nixie could travel from her lake, so long as she went willingly and regularly bathed in natural water. But this was not willingly, and they had already gone ten miles or more. 

By the time they had travelled twenty miles the tug of the bond had progressed to physical pain. Sigyn ended up lying on her back, gasping in agony as she stared up at the sky, which was almost as blue as her hair. It didn’t seem right that she should be taken on such a beautiful day. Such violence should be met with thunder, with rain. Or perhaps that was just her desire to feel water on her skin. 

Somehow she managed to doze through the pain until the cart stopped with a jerk. Callused hands pulled her out of the cage, forcing her onto her feet. Someone shackled her wrists, binding her magic, not that she could have used it while she was in such agony. Once that was done they removed the nets. Her captors – all men – huddled around her, probably to prevent her escape. 

She was wrong. The Bifrost struck them from above, and seconds later they were on Asgard. 

Sigyn’s bond with her lake snapped, a thread pulled too tightly. The agony of it lanced through her body, a white-hot pain through her heart. 

She screamed. 

*

Sigyn came to slowly. When she remembered what had happened she curled up in a ball and moaned. 

_My water. You took my water away from me._

The noise attracted the notice of her jailer, who strode over to stare at her through the bars. 

“Quiet, you.” 

Sigyn sat up and snarled. “Quiet? You kidnap me, drag me from my lake, lock me up, and you expect me to be quiet?” 

He looked at her disdainfully. “You needn’t think of it like that. You’re in Odin’s menagerie. You will be provided with food and water, and in return you will sing for the court when summoned. Really, you should count yourself lucky. You’re in one of the larger enclosures. Now for Odin’s sake, put some clothes on.” He gestured to a small bundle that sat a few feet away from Sigyn. 

Slowly, Sigyn got to her feet. Her nakedness unnerved the jailor, so she decided to use that against him. She pressed up against the bars until her eyes were level with his. “This isn’t an enclosure,” she hissed. “It’s a cell.” 

*

Her cell measured twenty feet by twenty feet. Exactly half of it was tiled flooring, and the other half was sunken and filled with water. There was a window set in one wall, but it was too high up to provide a view. 

When she investigated the bundle of cloth she found it to be a loose white dress of roughspun fabric. She pulled it on, lacking any other options for clothing. 

At least it matched her hair. 

A nixie’s hair colour would reflect her lake. It would be the blue-green of the water, or the red-brown of the mud at the shore, or the smooth grey of the stones sitting on the lake floor. Sigyn’s hair had always been the deep, pure blue of her lake’s water. Now that the bond had snapped the colour had bleached to the sterile white of a nixie with no water bond. 

She didn’t know how long she could survive with no lake, but death was coming for her: that, at least, was certain. 

*

Two days passed. Twice a day she would be brought food. It tasted like ash to her. A small part of her wondered why she bothered to eat at all. She was going to die. It was only a matter of time. 

On the morning of the third day, the royal family came to stare. 

Sigyn was sitting on the edge of the pool, her legs in the water, trying to get some relief from it. She could not submerge herself; the shackles were gone, but the cell bound her magic and she could not transform. Could not even grow gills to breathe under the water. 

There were four of them, the royals. Odin and Frigga. The sons Thor and Loki. 

“She’s quite beautiful,” said Frigga. “I’ve never seen one before.” 

Raven-haired Loki, the younger son, stepped forward to examine Sigyn more closely. “I’ve read that a nixie is incredibly strong, especially when she’s in her lake. How did they take her?” 

“Enchanted nets.” answered Odin. “She’ll sing for us next feast day.” 

After a few more minutes of staring at her they seemed to decide that she wasn’t entertaining enough, and moved on to some other imprisoned creature. 

*

The next feast day came all too soon. She found herself shackled and dragged before Odin’s high table, and the jailor snarled in her ear: “Sing.” 

“I don’t want to.” 

“Sing or I’ll stop feeding you.” 

Sigyn tilted her head back and sang. It was wordless, a continuing note, and as her voice rose she noticed a ripple through the crowded feast hall. Without her magic her voice was only a fraction of what it had once been, but it was still more beautiful than anything the gathered Asgardians would have heard before. 

She sang for nearly half an hour, letting the music take her, and when she lowered her head and fell silent it must have satisfied Odin, because he clapped, nodded, and she was led back to her cell. 

*

Soon there was a routine. Days would be spent sitting in her cell, dangling her feet in the water. Occasionally curious courtiers would come and gawp. On feast days she would be taken out to sing, then returned to the cell. 

None of it mattered. She was dying. 

She could feel it now. A tremor in her limbs that wouldn’t go away. She couldn’t eat, could barely sleep. On the rare occasions when she could find slumber, sleep would take her for too long, and she’d wake to find that she’d slept half the day away. She needed natural water, not the man-made pool. 

Death was wrapping its cold fingers around her, and she was almost tempted to let it drag her down. 

*

More time passed. How long had she been here? She’d lost count of the days. Standing made her head swim, so she would lie curled up on the floor of her cell, her food uneaten. Would the starvation kill her, or would the broken bond get her first? It was only a matter of time. At least it would be soon. She could feel it coming. 

*

Sigyn was jerked awake by a hand on her mouth. She tried to flinch back, but she was too weak to manage more than a twitch. 

Green eyes and dark hair came into focus. Prince Loki. 

“I’m getting you out of here,” he whispered. “If I take my hand off your mouth, do you promise not to scream?” 

Sigyn had no reason to trust him, but her only other option was staying here to die. She nodded. Whatever he did to her, good or bad, perhaps she’d even get to see open water one last time. 

He removed his hand. “Can you walk?” 

“I don’t know.” 

He pulled her arm around his shoulders, wrapped his arm around her waist, and lifted her onto her feet. They made four steps towards the open cell door before Sigyn’s legs collapsed under her. 

Loki didn’t miss a beat. He slipped an arm under her legs and carried her out of the cell, then along the corridor. The younger Odinson was slimmer than his elder brother, but still strong. She could feel the taut muscle of his arms around her as she stared up at the ceiling. 

“Where are you taking me, Prince of Asgard?” she breathed. 

“I’ve read that nixies don’t survive long if they’re stolen from their lakes. The others might say you’re only being sullen, but they’re just refusing to acknowledge that you’re dying. I’m going to take you back to your lake.” 

“Don’t.” It was a one-word plea. 

“You’ll die if I leave you in the menagerie.” He looked down at her, his gaze soft. “I can’t let that happen.” 

“It was the men from the nearest village who captured me. If you put me back in my old lake they’ll just take me again and bring me back to Asgard. My bond with that lake is gone, anyway. It isn’t _my_ lake anymore.” 

Loki drew a short, sharp breath. “So you’ll die no matter what I do? No, there must be another way, there has to be.” 

“There is. If I can find another lake, remote this time, away from people. It has to be completely natural, no jetties or moorings, nothing man-made. If I can find a lake like that I could forge a new bond and it will heal me.” Siygn took a shuddering breath. “I think it would have to be soon. I don’t know how much longer I can survive unbonded.” 

“I know a place.” He quickened his pace until he was half-running through the corridors of the palace. Guards were stationed at regular intervals, but they did not react. Loki must be using some kind of magic to allow them to pass unseen. 

They passed through a doorway and Sigyn found herself looking up at the stars. She hadn’t breathed fresh air in months, and she almost cried at the sensation of it in her lungs. After a few more minutes of walking, Loki set her down in a boat. She shivered in the midnight breeze, which wasn’t right. Nixies didn’t feel the cold. _I really am dying._ Loki removed his cloak and laid it over her. The fabric was warm, and it smelled of him. 

He sat in the stern of the boat and put his hand on the tiller. A slight movement of his wrist and the boat lifted off the ground. 

“I’m afraid we can’t go really fast,” he murmured apologetically. “Speed will attract unwanted attention.” 

“Why are you even doing this?” she whispered. “I’m just a nixie.” 

Loki shrugged. “Nobody cares what a second son does. I’m used to living in Thor’s shadow. When you live in the shadows, you notice things that an elder son might not. The others believe that nixies are too simple-minded to be bothered by captivity. It didn’t take much study of you to learn that wasn’t the case. Once I realised that you were a person not a creature… I couldn’t watch you suffer any longer. After that I read about how the loss of your lake would kill you and I knew that rescue would have to happen soon.” 

“For what it’s worth, I’m grateful.” 

“Perhaps you can repay me by telling me your name. I’d like to become acquainted with the woman I’m rescuing.” He sounded light-hearted but there was an underlying tension to his voice. If he didn’t get her to the lake soon enough… 

“It’s Sigyn.” 

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Sigyn.” 

“Oh, I’m no lady,” She laughed weakly. “Just a creature.” 

After that they lapsed into silence, and she must have passed out because the next thing she knew, Loki was shaking her awake. 

“Where are we?” 

“Svartalfheim.” 

Svartalfheim was a dead realm. “There’s a lake here?” 

“It’s underground. Will you still be able to bond?” 

“As long as it’s natural.” 

He picked her up again, and carried her off the boat and into a cave. For a while there was no sound but the rasp of his boots against the stone floor. Loki had conjured a light to see by, and it illuminated rock walls and caverns as he took her deeper into the network of tunnels and caves. 

Finally Sigyn sensed the natural water nearby. It called to her. Salvation. 

They entered a cavern, and when Sigyn turned her head she saw the lake. It was vast, the cavern that held it at least the size of Asgard’s great hall. Perhaps six times the size of her old lake. Bonding with such a body of water would make her very strong indeed. 

Loki’s voice drew her from her reverie. “Do you need me to do anything to help you forge the bond?” 

“No. Just set me down in the shallows.” 

He walked towards the shore, and Sigyn felt herself being lowered into the water. She sensed dampness in her hair and it felt like a blessing. Loki lowered her fully in and stepped back, leaving her submerged. 

The water embraced her like a mother with a child. _Hello,_ Sigyn told it. _I am come to claim you._

It answered her with a siren song. Her body arched, strength flooding her limbs as the lake bound itself to her heart. Her magic pulsed within her, and Sigyn let herself shapeshift just a little, keeping her human form but letting gills grow at the sides of her neck, webbing form between her fingers and toes. Her canines lengthened and sharpened. 

She sat up out of the water, grinning. When she stood she saw Loki, who had backed away to stand in the entrance to the cave. 

“Did it work?” he asked. 

Sigyn ran her fingers through her hair. It was a deep, dark green, identical to the colour of the lake. _Her_ lake. “Yes, it worked. What are you doing all the way over there?” 

“Oh, I’ve heard enough tales of nixies drowning hapless men for food to know that getting close to your new lake would be a bad idea.” 

Sigyn pretended to sulk. “Then how am I ever going to thank you?” 

“What were you going to do to thank me?” 

She laughed. “Haven’t you heard that if someone’s kissed by a nixie, they’ll never drown?” 

“I’ve heard that tale, but that doesn’t mean I believe it.” 

“Then how about you come over here and find out.” 

“And let you drown me?” he shot her a wicked smile. “I don’t think so.” 

“You have a dagger, don’t you? Put it against my throat. If I start to drown you you’ll have more than enough time to kill me.” 

Loki drew his dagger, a beautiful silver blade with green leather binding at the hilt. He examined it for a moment, then nodded. He walked towards her with cautious steps. Once he was close enough she took his wrist in one hand and held it so that the dagger’s blade just brushed her throat. With her other hand she cupped his face and drew him towards her. Their lips brushed, and they both felt the spark of magic pass between them. 

Abruptly, Loki pulled away and sheathed his dagger. “It seems that you’re a woman of your word.” 

Sigyn’s laugh sounded like a waterfall. “What else would I be? I owe you my life. If ever someone tries to drown you, the debt will be repaid.” 

He frowned again. “We’re even on that score, yes, but that doesn’t account for the torture. You lost your lake because someone thought you’d make a pretty gift for my family. I still owe you a home.” 

Sigyn stepped out of the water and shifted back to a fully human form. She no longer needed assistance to stand upright. “Maybe one day you will be able to repay that debt too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. The characters are owned by Marvel. I am not profiting financially from this story.


	2. Freedom

Loki helped her build a home. He brought her furniture from Asgard to fill her caves, rugs to place on rough stone floors, even a bed, though Sigyn preferred to sleep in the depths of her lake. He would gift her with gowns the colour of moonlight, the colour of seaweed, the iridescent shimmer of a kingfisher’s feathers. Necklaces of pearls and emeralds, strung together with silver and gold. 

When she asked why he gave her such expensive gifts, he would tell her that as a prince it was assumed that he was always trying to seduce _somebody_ , so purchases of gowns and jewels would not raise questions. Giving them to Sigyn would save him the trouble of a love affair. 

He brought gifts of plants too; flowers and fruit that they planted in a large cave, then carved sigils for light into the walls. Nixies could see perfectly well in the dark, so all the light sigils were for the sake of Sigyn’s plants or her only visitor. 

Loki bought her a bow and taught her how to use it, how to throw knives and wield a sword. Svartalfheim’s few animals were nocturnal, so some nights Sigyn would creep from her caves and catch enough for a meal or two. 

They turned the caves into a home, and filled that home with magic. 

Every nixie has magic. Some have more than most, and it usually depends on the size of the lake. Sigyn had always had talent, and her underground lake was huge. Bonding with it multiplied her power by ten. 

Magic had been her downfall, in the end. She’d lived in her old lake for centuries, then one day she’d seen a mortal girl injured and had risen from her waters to heal the child. The girl had carried the story back to her village, and two days later the men had come with their nets. 

Sigyn would never allow herself to be captured again, so when Loki offered her books from Asgard’s library, she accepted. Together they would pour over the volumes, uncovering secrets and performing spells that had not seen the light of day in millennia. Plants with magical properties joined the other plants in their cave, and Sigyn set aside a room for brewing potions that she would mix with water from her lake. Sometimes they would disguise themselves and travel the Nine Realms together, gathering knowledge the way a bee gathers pollen. 

Together they cast charms to shield the caves from Heimdall’s gaze and Odin’s alike. 

Frigga would wonder where her son was practising his powers. 

If any magic user had set foot on Svartalfheim they would have immediately felt the presence of a witch, strong and powerful. But Svartalfheim was deserted, and so Sigyn’s growing strength went undetected. 

Or nearly deserted. One day when the two of them went walking over the ashen hills they came across an old dark elf ship, still working, its invisibility shield intact. They slipped inside, and found Malekith, slumbering with his personal guard. A knife slipped between the ribs took care of the last remaining dark elves, and Sigyn took parts of the ship back to her caves to tinker with. 

At first Loki had visited her only rarely, not wanting to risk giving away her location. However, soon Sigyn’s caves became a sanctuary, far from the intrigue and pettiness of Asgard’s court. He brought a second bed, and she gave him a chamber close to her own. Loki took to leaving a few sets of clothes in there, for the occasions when he would stay the night. 

The kiss Sigyn had given him stayed between them, an unspoken thing that neither would mention to the other. 

She told herself that it was normal to desire him. Natural, even. The slender body and the sharp cheekbones and the piercing green eyes. His sharp wit. She told herself that the impulse to brush her fingertips along the strong set of his jaw made sense. He was fine of feature, and the only person who truly knew her. 

She decided to never do anything about it. If he didn’t return her feelings then she’d lose the only person she cared about. Sigyn had taken lovers before, but the memories of them weren’t as sweet as they’d once been. She kept remembering her past lovers, but then she’d start to imagine them with hair the colour of night. 

*

Every few months Sigyn would disguise herself and travel to Asgard’s marketplace. She’d make a few purchases, and then spend a few minutes picking up gossip. Which was how she found herself talking to a pottery seller who told her that Loki was dead. Had been dead a week. 

They said that he was not Odin’s son at all, but a Jotunn prince. 

They said that he’d thrown himself from the Bifrost. 

Sigyn left Asgard in a daze. It was only when she was back on Svartalfheim that she fell to her knees and screamed her loss at the empty sky. 

*

One year later, word spread through Asgard that Loki had been found, captured, and brought home to be imprisoned. 

A woman in the marketplace heard the news and rushed away to weep. Nixies don’t cry from sorrow, but they do cry from happiness. 

Loki was locked in the dungeon, a golden barrier preventing his escape and binding his magic. Frigga brought him books and furniture. It was no substitute for lost freedom. Late at night he would think of Sigyn. She must know what he was by now. 

Jotunn. 

Monster. 

Loki told himself firmly that he shouldn’t hope. Even if he did manage to escape, she would never want to see him again. 

*

It was deepest night when he was woken by a quiet cough. The cells’ lights were dimmed at night, the only illumination coming from the golden barriers. An einherji guard stood just outside his cell. 

He blinked, and suddenly it wasn’t a guard, but a woman with hair the colour of a Svartalfheim lake. She wore a deep green dress, a dark cloak, and a smile. 

Sigyn slid her hand through the gold barrier, and no alarms went off. Loki took the offered hand, and she pulled him through the barrier. 

“I didn’t think you would come for me,” he whispered. 

“How strange,” Sigyn replied. “You usually have such good judgement.” 

For a moment she thought that he would let go of her hand, but he didn’t, and they walked out of the holding cells hand in hand. Not a single guard was alerted. 

There was a boat waiting for them. They stepped in, each of them remembering a night much like this one, when stars had wheeled overhead and a prince had carried a half-dead nixie out of the palace. 

A trunk lay on the floor of the boat. Sigyn had liberated as many of Loki’s possessions as possible from his old chambers. Neither of them would be returning to Asgard for a good long while; they were both eager to avoid the inevitable manhunt when Loki was found to be missing, and there were plenty of other Realms to occupy their time. 

As Sigyn manoeuvred the boat in the direction of the Path Between Worlds that would lead them to Svartalfheim, she noticed Loki looking back at the glimmering lights of Asgard. 

“Will you miss it?” she asked softly. 

“I think so. Or perhaps I won’t miss it exactly. I think I’ll miss what it could have been. Asgard could be so much greater that it is if Odin would let go of his prejudices.” he paused, then turned to face her, his bright green eyes staring deep into hers. “Do you know? That I’m…” 

“Jotunn? Yes.” 

“I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it. Maybe one day.” 

She offered him a small smile. “I’ll wait.” 

*

Once they had arrived at Sigyn’s caves and carried the trunk to Loki’s room they prepared a meal together. Neither felt like eating much, so it was just a few simple dishes. After they’d eaten Sigyn sat back while Loki told her what had happened in the past year. 

Thor’s banishment. The discovery of his Jotunn heritage. Letting himself fall from the Bifrost because his whole world had come crumbling down around him. Being tortured by Thanos. Getting sent to Midgard with the instructions to conquer it. Failing deliberately so that he would be returned to Asgard, away from Thanos’ reach. Imprisonment without trial. 

He told her all of it in a flat, detached voice as he stared into the fire, too worn out from a year of torture to properly show his emotions. 

When he was done, Sigyn rose and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Recovery will take time.” she told him. “I believe that eventually you will be alright. Until then, you should rest. You can stay with me as long as you like.” 

“Thank you.” He squeezed her hand briefly, then stood and walked back to his room in silence. 

*

The next morning Sigyn rose and walked down to her lake. She left her clothes in a neat pile on the shore, took a running jump, and dived. As she slipped into the water her whole body shifted, skin shifting into scales as her fingers and toes grew webs. She took a deep breath through her gills and sighed contentedly. 

Siygn drifted to the bottom of the lake, singing softly to herself. Loki wouldn’t be able to hear her from his room, but it still felt like she was singing to him. Maybe they’d go hunting together later. Perhaps what Loki needed was a reminder of his newfound freedom. 

She swam in lazy circles, comfortable in her lake’s embrace. 

After almost an hour she swam back to the shallows and stood, the water draining off her body and leaving her dry. 

She pulled her clothes back on and made her way back to the main tunnels, which had an offshoot leading to her room. Sigyn could hear the roar of a dust storm building up outside the caves. 

To get to her bedroom Sigyn had to walk past Loki’s room. The dark green curtain that usually covered the entrance wasn’t quite drawn across, allowing a view inside. 

When Sigyn saw him, she had a jolt of shock. 

Loki was standing facing his mirror. He’d shifted to Jotunn form and was studying himself intently. His skin was a deep blue, covered in ridged geometric markings. Sigyn wondered if she’d ever get used to seeing him with such vivid red eyes. 

His face, however, still possessed the same sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. The way he frowned was unchanged. 

His hair was longer from his imprisonment, falling past his shoulders, but Sigyn found herself liking it that way. It looked more natural, better than the sharply precise way he’d arranged it when he was still trying to please Asgard’s court. He’d changed out of his prison garb, into a green tunic and dark trousers. 

His eyes met hers in the mirror and he started, shifting back to Asgardian form. 

“Sigyn, forgive me. I should have closed the door.” 

She slipped past the curtain and into his room. “Do not apologise for living in your true form.” 

“I don’t expect you to be comfortable with this. I’m not even comfortable with it myself.” He glanced at her, before his gaze flicked away again. “Your parents must have told you tales of the monstrous frost giants.” 

“I had no parents. My lake dreamed of a child, and I am that dream made flesh.” Sigyn stepped towards him. “Surely you don’t think yourself a monster.” 

“What else am I supposed to believe?” he murmured. 

She took another step, and cupped his face in her hand. He leaned into her touch. Sigyn let the scales spread over her skin. “Then until you think otherwise, let’s be monsters together.” 

Loki whispered her name, and she closed the distance between them, lightly brushing her lips against his as she had done once before. He closed his eyes, and Sigyn made to draw back, but when he felt her pulling away his eyes snapped open and he took her hand. 

Loki murmured her name again, almost like prayer. 

He kissed her, long and deep, deep as a lake. The kiss felt like a song, and Sigyn knew that she wanted this, forever. Loki in her caves and in her lake and in her bed. 

Loki shifted under her hands, his skin changing to the colour of sapphires. 

“Perhaps,” he breathed, “being a monster will not be quite as awful as I’d imagined.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they were monsters together...
> 
> Comments & kudos = love


End file.
